Time galloped past like a racing steed.
Six years passed in a flash.
Tang San was walking alone through the streets of Suotuo City.
On Gangzi's recommendation, he planned to attend the so-called Shrek Academy, which accepted only monsters.
Even after six whole years, he still hadn't forgotten Xiao Wu.
Lin Xiao's shadow loomed ever larger in his eyes.
His hatred for him had practically seeped into his bones.
His father had disappeared too. Several times, he had gone home during Nuoding Academy's holidays, only to find his father absent.
Even Old Jack was nowhere to be found.
As evening approached, Tang San began looking for somewhere to rest.
Every hotel he asked along the way gave him the same answer: they were full.
Growing irritated, he arrived at the entrance to the Rose Hotel.
There, he saw two figures lingering at the front desk.
His eyes widened instantly.
Lin Xiao! And Xiao Wu, whom he missed every single day.
He looked up at the hotel's name: Rose Hotel.
Then he looked at its pink decor.
Although he had lived in ancient times in his previous life, brothels had existed then too. Having lived twice, how could he fail to understand?
This was a fucking lovers' hotel!
His eyes instantly turned bloodshot. Panting like an ox, he stormed into the hotel.
"Lin Xiao! What are you planning to do with Xiao Wu?"
Hearing his voice, Lin Xiao smiled. I've finally been waiting long enough for you to show up.
He slowly turned around with Xiao Wu.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this Little Scumbag? It's been a few years. How did you get so pathetic?"
He sneered:
"I'm free to bring Xiao Wu here. She's my maid. What the hell does it have to do with you?"
Lin Xiao's words only made Tang San angrier.
His entire face turned purple with rage.
Why had Xiao Wu become his maid? That evil Lin Xiao must have forced her!
Lin Xiao, you've given me every reason to kill you!
Roaring inwardly, he snorted and suppressed his anger as he addressed the front desk.
"Get me a room!"
The receptionist replied apologetically.
"I'm sorry, sir. We only had two rooms left, and Mr. Lin already reserved both!"
Tang San initially sighed in relief. At least Xiao Wu wasn't sharing a room with Lin Xiao.
Then an idea formed in his mind.
Under the guidance of Yu Xiaogang, the world's foremost theoretical Grandmaster,
he had reached rank twenty-nine soul power at just twelve years old.
One small breakthrough was all he needed to become a Soul Elder.
Meanwhile, his Blue Silver Grass martial soul had gained a poison attribute.
It could catch his enemies off guard.
Tang San was thoroughly confident he could defeat Lin Xiao with ease.
Thus, he spoke.
"Lin Xiao, since you've reserved the rooms, why don't we fight? If you lose, hand over your room. If I lose, I'll leave. How about it?"
Seeing Lin Xiao remain unmoved, Tang San grew even more certain of his judgment.
"What? Are you afraid?"
Lin Xiao felt rather speechless at Tang San's provocation.
Had I damaged this Little Scumbag's brain when I beat him six years ago?
"I reserved the room in advance, but I have to give it to you if I lose, while you put nothing on the line? Who would fight you?"
Seeing Lin Xiao regard him as a source of amusement,
Tang San once again panted like an ox.
"Fine! If I lose, this stone is yours!"
Following his hand, Lin Xiao saw the plate crystal Tang San had used to make Dragon Whisker Needles in the original story.
Only then did Lin Xiao nod.
Just as Tang San was about to attack, a white-haired nobleman walked in with a beauty in each arm.
"Hey, I'm taking that room! Hand it over if you know what's good for you!"
It was none other than Dai Mubai.
Recognizing the little tiger, Lin Xiao said, "I'll take you both on. Join in. Forget handing it over-if you beat me, I'll even give you an extra million Gold Soul Coins!"
Dai Mubai heard only the words "a million Gold Soul Coins."
The academy had always been short of money.
At that thought, he agreed without hesitation.
"Dai Mubai. Martial soul: Evil-Eyed White Tiger. Rank thirty-seven power attack system Battle Soul Elder. Please!"
Although Tang San disliked him interrupting his one-on-one duel with Lin Xiao,
once he heard that Dai Mubai was a Soul Elder, he had no further objections.
He possessed the Tang Sect's cultivation methods, as well as hidden weapons.
After they joined forces to defeat Lin Xiao, he was confident he could beat Dai Mubai too.
"Tang San. Martial soul: Blue Silver Grass. Rank twenty-nine Control-Type Battle Spirit Master. Please!"
Looking at the Shrek duo before him,
after six years of cultivation, Lin Xiao had finally found his first personal punching bags.
Lin Xiao advanced step by step, soul rings continuously emerging beneath his feet.
One astonishing soul ring after another rose from beneath him.
Lin Xiao's soul rings were red, fiery red, ice blue, red, and red.
After six years of steady growth, he had become a rank fifty-nine Soul King.
He was just one rank away from becoming a Soul Emperor.
His Soul King aura surged straight toward the pair.
Both were so frightened that cold sweat covered their backs.
Neither could believe that Lin Xiao, who belonged to their age group, already possessed five rings.
Even harder to believe was his astonishing soul ring configuration.
Lin Xiao glanced around and suddenly remembered a famous scene.
Imitating Huo Yuhao, he loudly showed off: "I come from the Spirit Pagoda!"
He paid no attention to the exaggerated, American-style shock of those around him.
Dai Mubai was the first to recover.
He snorted.
"They're obviously fake!"
Then he used his first and third soul skills together, sending a White Tiger Fierce Light Wave shooting toward Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao merely smiled, neither dodging nor defending.
With a bang, several of the hotel's floor tiles shattered.
When the smoke cleared, Lin Xiao stood before them completely unharmed.
Then, when Dai Mubai blinked again, Lin Xiao was gone.
Only Xiao Wu remained behind them, making faces at him as she watched.
An immense sense of danger suddenly struck, and Dai Mubai instinctively turned around.
A staff slammed into his face.
A tooth spun through a full circle in the air before falling straight to the ground. Dai Mubai was sent flying by the blow and lay motionless on the floor.
Shocked, Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to try to create distance.
To his horror, no matter how far he retreated, Lin Xiao kept approaching him step by step.
Only one thought remained in Tang San's mind.
I'll stake everything on this!
He unleashed Mother's Entanglement, binding Lin Xiao's hands with thick Blue Silver Grass, then flung hidden weapons straight at his chest.
There was a bang.
Tang San went flying too.
"I told you, Little Scumbag, you're no good! Six years, and you still won't listen."
"If you can't beat me today, you'll never beat me in your lifetime. Understand?"
Tang San covered his swollen eye with one hand and clawed backward with the other, trying to get away.
Lin Xiao stretched, then slowly grabbed him by the collar.
A series of agonizing screams rang through the Rose Hotel.
The bystanders hurried away from this den of trouble.
They also discussed the existence of the Spirit Pagoda among themselves.
That night, Lin Xiao and Xiao Wu finished washing up and went to sleep in their respective beds.
Cold wind swept through the nighttime streets.
A man with a face swollen like a pig's head stood up.
Tang San glared toward the Rose Hotel and said bitterly,
"Lin Xiao! You've swollen my face twice now. I, Tang San, will repay this grudge twofold! You've given me every reason to kill you!"
Lin Xiao lay contentedly in bed, carefully recalling everything he had gained over the past six years.
He hadn't killed Tang San.
Mainly, he wanted to take his time and have some fun with him, step by step. (If Tang San died, the story would be forced to end within a month.)
Still, it really had felt satisfying.
His third soul ring was the Ice Dragon King's divine ring. The single skill it granted was the opposite of the Fire Dragon King's, giving Gungnir the ability to freeze a target internally.
This soul skill was also guaranteed to take effect, forcibly freezing its target for one second.
It had something of Heavenly Emperor Xu's flair.
His fourth and fifth soul skills had been supplied by members of the Myriad Demon King's and Bi Ji's clans respectively.
His fourth soul skill was Rupture.
After piercing an enemy's body, it would suddenly explode. Tiny shoots would stab into the enemy's meridians like hidden weapons, partially sealing their soul skills.
The fifth soul skill supplied by an Emerald Swan allowed him to attach his own vitality to Gungnir.
It would drain an enemy's vitality and replenish his own soul power and spiritual power.
Bleeding, life steal, and an absolute crowd-control skill.
But one thing had always displeased Lin Xiao: why did it only gain one soul skill regardless of which soul ring it absorbed?
Wasn't that a nerf?
Lin Xiao was already so weak in this version.
He had temporarily stored the soul bones dropped by his fourth and fifth soul rings rather than absorbing them.
Even the Ice Empress had once said that, without using any skills,
his physical strength and spear technique alone were enough to defeat an ordinary Soul Saint.
If he used his soul skills, even a Titled Douluo would be in trouble.
After all, his first soul skill, with its guaranteed Pierce, was far too overpowered.
As long as the gap in soul power wasn't too great, he could simply stack several soul skills: guaranteed penetration to wound you, seal your soul power, inflict severe internal injuries, freeze you for another second, and heal himself too. Wouldn't that piss you off?
At that moment, Lin Xiao suddenly thought of Shrek again.
He didn't particularly dislike Zhao Wuji or Flender.
At least the former dared to face the Titan Giant Ape head-on to buy his students time to escape, while the latter could abandon Shrek and join Heaven Dou Royal Academy to give them better prospects.
As for all of Shrek's teachers, including Qin Ming,
in Lin Xiao's eyes, they could at least be considered responsible.
At most, Qin Ming was arguably something of an ungrateful wolf.
Thus, this time Lin Xiao only intended to give them a beating and promote the Spirit Pagoda before returning to his Xue'er for some proper intimacy.
Over the past six years, his relationship with the Ice and Snow Emperors had grown ever closer. Only that final thin barrier remained between them.
As for winning over Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, the former wanted to grow stronger, but ultimately her mindset as someone's accessory hadn't changed.
Otherwise, despite her sister leaving her a path to survival, she wouldn't have kept believing in Dai Mubai after he fled. Even after discovering his life of brothel-going, she refused to leave again and eventually reconciled with him.
Even after reaching the Divine Realm, she remained the same.
Although Ning Rongrong had a spoiled princess's temper as a young heiress, she had no major flaws.
But with Ye Lingling around, Lin Xiao naturally had no interest in Ning Rongrong for the seven-person team he wanted to personally train for the national advanced Soul Master Tournament.
After all, with an absolute advantage, who would bother fighting a battle of attrition?
As for Ning Fengzhi, although he was full of schemes, he was a businessman at heart. He would naturally recognize Lin Xiao's value, especially given Lin Xiao's overwhelmingly powerful combat strength.
Moreover, his immortal herbs could help the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda evolve into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Once this bargaining chip was on the table.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would not mind becoming the Spirit Pagoda's faithful little dog.
For Ning Fengzhi, the evolution of his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul.
Was enough to make him give up everything.
Though if he refused to give up everything, Xuan Zi would help him do so.
However, that Qiluo Youxiang Immortal Herb had already been given away to win over the Ye Family and invest in Ye Lingling.
Still, as long as there were seeds, another could always be grown.
The Snow Empress's divine trials had already reached the fifth trial.
At worst, he could have Xue'er water it with divine power and quickly grow a vastly inferior specimen to hand out as a sweet reward.
Skywater Academy and the Shui Family had relocated inside the Spirit Pagoda.
The Ye Family and the Dugu Family had done the same.
The rewards at levels 30, 40, and 50, where he could choose three out of five.
Had offered nothing particularly impressive.
Only the complete set of sect facilities and the method for creating soul spirits were decent.
With the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress present, they first conducted experiments with the soul beasts of the Far North.
All of them were very satisfied with the results.
Not only were these no different from the soul spirits in the original story.
The soul beasts could also choose to return to the Spirit Pagoda after their hosts died.
They would retain their original cultivation, and one-tenth of the cultivation gained during their time as soul spirits could also be returned to them as their physical bodies were reconstructed.
Humans and soul spirits had truly become partners who fought shoulder to shoulder.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were among the first to reap these benefits.
Both of their fourth soul rings were already ten-thousand-year soul spirits.
As for soul bones, the soul spirit technology also clearly detailed how to manufacture artificial soul bones.
Although they were not as powerful as genuine soul bones, in the current environment, they were already treasures that many thirsted for like parched men craving water.
As for genuine soul bones, Lin Xiao believed competition among soul beasts should be preserved, with the soul bones of those that died in conflicts or heavenly tribulations stored in the Spirit Pagoda.
Their corpses could also serve as disposable soul spirit consumables, each capable of providing only a single soul ring.
After all, until they reached an age of tens of thousands of years.
Most soul beasts still retained their wild nature.
Moreover, soul beasts reproduced quite quickly.
Preserving competition among soul beasts would not only provide a stronger core of outstanding soul beasts.
It would also keep certain soul beasts from multiplying unchecked.
Next, all he needed to do was unify the continent and establish laws, and coexistence between humans and soul beasts could be achieved step by step.
As for the growth of power and greed.
By the time I ascend to the Divine Realm, I'll simply launch Douluo's great age of interstellar exploration.
Everything will remain firmly in my hands.
What will there be to worry about?
As for the Spirit Pagoda established at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The complete set of sect buildings provided by the system was the sort that concealed a whole other world within.
But that was merely a flattering way of putting it.
From the outside, it looked like nothing more than a dilapidated village.
It had only just emerged, and aside from Prince Xue Xing, who had some acquaintance with Dugu Bo and had noticed a little, no one else knew about it yet.
But with this publicity, the Spirit Pagoda's name would surely spread like wildfire across the entire continent before long.
Next, he only needed to wait a little while before he could collect Tang San's Eight Spider Lances.
If he could saddle the Clear Sky Hammer with three white rings, that would be even sweeter.
Lin Xiao had only brought Xiao Wu back from the Star Dou Great Forest in the past few days.
Compared with her level of 29 in the original story, Xiao Wu had now advanced to level 33.
His repeated stretches of secluded cultivation, during which she never saw him, had left her deeply resentful of Lin Xiao.
So he would have to spend these next few days taking her out to wander around and have some fun.
As his thoughts wandered, drowsiness overtook him, and Lin Xiao sank into a deep sleep.
(A big 4,000-character chapter! The results on the first day of testing the waters weren't very good, so please add this story to your favorites, dear readers. If there's anything you're unhappy with, leave a comment. If Yiyue thinks the suggestion is suitable, I'll take it on board and make changes.)
Love you all ^_^¦¦¦
Before you continue